


the beauty of the moment

by todreaminscarlet



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Gen, sibling fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 08:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5736556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/todreaminscarlet/pseuds/todreaminscarlet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leia & Luke spend a moment together after the fallout of Endor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the beauty of the moment

**Author's Note:**

> This is as close to fluff as I can produce. It's an apology to myself for all the angst I've been writing.

She finds Luke lying in the grass outside the base. He’s sprawled in the grass, and she can see why no one found him in the dark of the night. His head is pillowed on his arms, and he shows no outward sign that he recognizes her presence.

 

“I’m not sure the Force should be used in a game of hide and seek, like we’re ten,” Leia says.

 

Luke’s lips curve into a smirk, and he chuckles briefly. “We’re good at it regardless,” he says, and Leia plops on the ground beside him.

 

She looks over at her brother and smiles at him ( _brother_ ; it’s been weeks since she learned, and still that word causes her heart to soften. Luke, her _brother_. It still boggles her mind, and yet saying the word makes everything seem _right_ ).

 

“People were wondering where you were,” she tells him.

 

Luke skeptically looks at her out of the corner of his eyes, rolls them, and looks back at the sky. “You could have told Han that I was alright.”

 

Leia bursts out laughing and lies down beside him. “It is getting late,” she says, and Luke scoffs under his breath.

 

“I’m the Great Jedi—“ Luke begins to say, and Leia pinches his side. “Hey!” he says.

 

Leia chooses not to respond.

 

Luke moves one of his arms out from under his head to rest under Leia’s. She raises her head and rests it on his bicep, and she looks over at his face. Luke’s scarred face is relaxed, and the Force swirls around him gently. His eyes are staring at the stars, but he looks over to meet her gaze. She twists her face and wrinkles her nose, and he smiles at her.

 

( _This is her brother_ , she reminds herself. This kind, patient warrior, this friend of hers, is her _brother_. The thought is too much; it softens her and it fits all the missing pieces into place. This is the connection, the love, the awareness that there was something _more_ to him, something _right_ about him. _This is her brother_.)

 

They both turn their eyes to stare back at the sky, and the stars glow brightly in the cloudless expanse. The sounds of people echo in the distance, but they are far away, and here there is only the cool, ticking grass under her back, the balmy wind dancing across her face, the warmth of her brother at her side, and the whole of the galaxy before her eyes. Here, it is peaceful, and Leia would ask Luke what he is thinking, but she would rather be silent with him, and rest.

 

Rest is hard to come by these days. There are always _people_ and _questions_ and rules and plans and planets to take back, and someone always needs one of the three of them (Luke with his Jedi ways and Commander’s skills, Leia with her politics and command, Han with his General’s title and skillful piloting). Someone always needs them.

 

She’s grateful they’re making progress; it’s slow, but it’s steady, and since Endor (since Palpatine and Vader are gone), the Empire has progressively destabilized. They will win, and now everyone wants to know what _winning_ will look like.

 

(Her secret is that Leia’s not that sure that she knows. She knows what her father wanted, what he planned, and she passes his dreams along, but for the first time in a very long time, the only dreams in her brain are _personal_. She wants Han and Luke, and she wants them all to be a family, and she wants to be at peace, for once, even though she doesn’t know what that would be like. But she wants them, and she wants to be okay, and she can’t decide if her dreams are small or if they are impossible.)

 

Leia just wants to rest, but there is still so much to be done. She’s just tired right now, that’s really all there is. It’s been years of war and loss, and she’s just _tired_. She will be okay, and she’ll want to build this new galaxy of theirs, but she’s tired now, and she just wants to rest.

 

Leia closes her eyes for a moment and shoves those thoughts away. Now is not the time. Now, those questions and needs are far away from this star-lit place and the warmth and comfort of her brother. She opens her eyes again and stares up into the stars. _They’re beautiful_. They’re bright and yet they look so small, and it boggles her mind that she has been to them, and they are _places_ , some of them, with people and creatures and beings. _They’re so beautiful_.

 

It’s quiet and peaceful where she lies; it’s warm and comfortable, and the beauty is only a source of joy (and none of this common bittersweet pain).

 

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers.

 

“It is,” Luke breathes.

 

They lie there together, Leia’s head resting by his shoulder, and they keep staring.

 

After minutes go by, Luke says quietly, “I used to dream I could fly away. I’d go out sometimes and look at the suns and the moons and the stars and think about the adventures I could have.”

 

“Some adventures,” Leia can’t help but say.

 

“Some adventures,” Luke says wryly. He pauses then, and Leia waits for him to speak. “I just wanted to get away.” Leia stays silent. “I don’t think I even knew what I wanted.”

 

“Do we ever?” Leia asks, and she means it.

 

“Didn’t you?” Luke responds, and she sees his point. “I just didn’t want a boring life, I wanted _more_ , but I didn’t really care much about ideals, and I only left when there was nothing left to stay for and when Ben asked me to come.” He stops talking, and Leia’s not sure what to say.

 

“What are you trying to say?” she asks, and Luke waits a long time to respond.

 

“I don’t know,” he whispers. Leia turns her head to look at Luke, but he keeps his eyes steady on the stars. “I couldn’t imagine what this all could be, what it _looks_ like up there in the cockpit, what it would mean to save you. I couldn’t imagine having a sister or that my father was alive or that my father was _Vader_.”

 

“Luke,” Leia says.

 

“It’s crazy,” Luke says. “I don’t know how to make sense of it.”

 

Leia laughs then, surprising herself. “I find it’s best if we don’t,” she says, and she _knows_ Luke rolls his eyes.

 

“I didn’t imagine these adventures,” Luke says.

 

“Who would,” Leia whispers.

 

Luke hums in response, and then he says, “But it’s been good, even still.”

 

“Good?” Leia asks.

 

“I got you and Han and Artoo, didn’t I?” he says. “I met Ben and learned about the Force and saved Father and got to be a part of this, haven’t I?”

 

Luke’s optimism always surprises Leia. And it’s not even that Luke doesn’t get discouraged or uncertain or sad, but he always comes back to this—to the idea that the journey is an adventure, and the adventure is worthwhile. Luke always returns to the hope and the quiet certainty that the pain builds you, that grief cannot hold you, that forgiveness is the highest value (she knows he does not always succeed, but it’s his _effort_ that always strikes her).

 

And he’s right, Leia knows. It’s not always so simple with her; it feels harder than Luke makes it sound, but he’s also right, in a way. They have each other now, and Han. They have each other, and it doesn’t remove the pain of losing her parents and Alderaan or the confusion of everything related to their father, but it’s a consolation and a source of joy. They can’t change that this has been their adventure, but Luke is right. There has still been goodness in the struggle.

 

Leia leans over and kisses Luke’s cheek, and he brings his hand to rest on her head. They keep staring at the stars, and Leia forms constellations in her mind.

 

“Someone’s going to wonder where you went,” Luke says after a time.

 

Leia stares into the dark expanse at the twinkling lights, feels the peace of the moment and the warm comfort of her brother at her side, and whispers, “Just a few minutes more.”

 

And so they stay.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!! I'm adaperturamlibri on tumblr if you want to come say hi!


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